Defining Mission

Defining Mission, offers a glimpse into the daily life and leadership styles of the members of an Italian religious institute struggling to overcome the obstacles faced in America. Patricia Durchholz provides the historical context and diplomatic negotiations involved as a foreign missionary society works and expands in the North American dioceses in Canada, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Louisville, Newark and San Diego. She begins before World War II with the diary of Father Edward Mason, a seasoned African missionary, who sought to offer his services to African American parishes to secure a safe haven for Comboni missionaries facing expulsion from Africa. Durchholz continues the story as other Comboni missionaries struggle to adapt to America and pioneer work in ethnic parishes and missions through the 1960s. The author analyzes the successes and failures of this Italian institute serving African Americans, while detailing the political and religious aspects of the community.

Jesus sends us into the world just as God the Father sent him - and yet Christians continue to disagree on what this involves. Some believe that the focus of Christian mission is evangelizing and 'saving souls'. Others emphasize global justice issues or relief and development work. Is either view correct on its own? John Stott's classic volume, first published forty years ago, presents an enduring view of Christian mission that is just as needed today. Newly updated and expanded by Christopher J. H. Wright, Christian Mission in the Modern World provides a biblically based approach to mission that addresses both spiritual and physical needs. With his trademark clarity and conviction, Stott illuminates how the Great Commission itself not only assumes the proclamation that makes disciples, but also teaches obedience to the Great Commandment of love and service. Wright has expertly updated the original book and demonstrates the continuing relevance of Stott's prescient thinking. This balanced approach to mission encourages current and future Christians to embrace an unconflicted and holistic model of ministry.

Most observers would point to the 1969 Apollo moon landing as the single greatest accomplishment of NASA, yet prominent scientists, engineers, and public officials were questioning the purpose of the U.S. space program, even at the height of its national popularity. Defining NASA looks at the turbulent history of the space agency and the political controversies behind its funding. W. D. Kay examines the agency's activities and behavior by taking into account not only the political climate, but also the changes in how public officials conceptualize space policy. He explores what policymakers envisioned when they created the agency in 1958, why support for the Apollo program was so strong in the 1960s only to fade away in such a relatively short period of time, what caused NASA and the space program to languish throughout most of the 1970s only to reemerge in the 1980s, and, finally, what role the agency plays today.

This book explores the theme of the missional conversion of the church, namely how the church is transformed toward its missionary vocation, from a biblical-theological perspective. The purpose of this book is to find biblically grounded, theologically sound, and practically applicable principles helpful for the church which seeks to be continuously shaped into a missional community which authentically and fully participates in God’s mission today. The biblical-theological findings on how the triune God in the biblical narrative shapes the people of God toward their missionary vocation demonstrates, first, that, in Scripture, the missional conversion of the church is primarily the consequence of its continuous encounter with the triune God, and, second, that this divine-human encounter for the missional conversion of the church is ineluctable in view of the ongoing tension between the missional faithfulness of God in fulfilling the missionary vocation of the church, on the one hand, and the missional failure of the church in its missionary vocation, on the other hand.

This book invites a conversation among stakeholders of public education and conveys the need for a common vision for America’s public schools. Amy Fast argues that we have never had a clear purpose for our schools and that now, more than ever, educators in America ache for a more inspiring purpose than simply improving results on standardized assessments. Fast asserts how focusing on the mission instead of simply the mandates and measures is how real change occurs. Until we have a common and transparent purpose that serves to inspire those in the trenches of the work, reform in public education will continue to flounder. Through the examination of our past and current priorities for American schools, Fast uncovers a nobler purpose that will intrinsically move educators as well as students to be inspired in their work. In turn, it is this inspiration—not another silver bullet reform—that will lead to meaningful change in society.

The role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the business world has developed from a fig leaf marketing front into an important aspect of corporate behavior over the past several years. Sustainable strategies are valued, desired and deployed more and more by relevant players in many industries all over the world. Both research and corporate practice therefore see CSR as a guiding principle for business success. The “Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility” has been conceived to assist researchers and practitioners to align business and societal objectives. All actors in the field will find reliable and up to date definitions and explanations of the key terms of CSR in this authoritative and comprehensive reference work. Leading experts from the global CSR community have contributed to make the “Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility” the definitive resource for this field of research and practice.